All on House of Commons letterhead. 7 November 1924; 12 March 1926 ('Dictated 12th'); 22 June 1928 ('Dictated 21st')

£320.00

Three excellent letters, highly revealing of Curzon's political position in the 1920s. The first, in the aftermath of the 1924 General Election, discussing at length the decline of Liberalism and the 'menace' of Socialism; the second regarding Lloyd George's 'land swindle' and the 'crushing blow' it has dealt the Liberal Party; the third explaining the reason for the impossibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill supporting Mansel (by now a Conservative) at the hustings in the 1928 Carmarthen by-election.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Begins: 'My dear | Our Jubilee bustle - & subsequently four days spent at Oxford on a College Election have prevented my attending to your little manual - The last corrections which you made - are now sent to the Printer - & a revise shall be sent in a day or two.' He ends by expressing relief at the 'improving accounts of your poor brothers family'.

The 1903 Delhi Durbar was held to celebrate the succession of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark as Emperor and Empress of India. Devised and overseen in meticulous detail by Lord Curzon, this two-week display of pomp and power was easily the grandest of the three Durbars. Edward did not attend, but sent his brother the Duke of Connaught in his place. No other copies of the following two items have been traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or on COPAC.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. Consisting of a series of appalling puns, the letter reads: 'Dear Sir | Thanks for the Time Table it was a "rail" service and for your offer of a meal which will suit me to a "T" and for your selection of a bed, as I prefer Bedford to Bedlam, and for your instructions to change my train. It is easier to miss a train than to train a miss. | I feel now that I shall get to Royston with only the Hitchen that is necessary, and I am itching to get there when I feel that I am Warren-ted safe. | I remain My dear Sir | Yours truly'.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper. Printed in small type. Curzon's letter, dated from Kedleston, 30 September 1913, is a long report, covering the first two pages of the document, describing his efforts to 'remove from the town and country the great reproach of losing a library devoted to Derbyshire persons and subjects' by securing it for the Borough of Derby. The third page of the document carries 'an appeal made by Lord Curzon of Kedleston to residents in the County and Borough of Derby', headed 'Lord Curzon and the Derby Free Library.

2pp., 12mo. 30 lines. Good, on lightly-aged paper. She begins by explaining that it was 'by an entire mistake' that Mrs Lamb's money (presumably the rent for Devonshire Lodge, owned by Mrs Lamb) was not paid, and that the mistake is 'now cleared up, & the money is to be paid this very morning by Coutt's into your Banker's'. Her sister Mary is not able to pass on this information herself, as 'she has been for above a fortnight so very unwell as not to be able to write, or occupy herself in any way - a severe fit of & Influenza has confined her, & kept me in great agony about her'.?>

(Wyndham) Statesman and man of letters, at the time of this letter Chief Secretary fo Ireland (see DNB). Three pages, 4to, good condition, draft with much working over. He appreciates being given detailed grounds for a proposal that Sir Anthony Macdonnell [MacDonnell, Antony Patrick, Baron MacDonnell, statesman, of Irish origin] , currently working with Wyndham in Ireland might be made available in the Indian Council, a matter of urgency. He explains at length his high opinion of Macdonnell (energy, ability, distinction, etc.) and his reluctance to part with him.